September 6 (SeeNews) - The operator of Croatia's river port of Osijek plans to sign a 12.5 million kuna ($1.9 million/1.9 million euro) contract with a consortium of local companies for the construction of a new passenger port, the government in Zagreb said.
The government gave its consent to the port operator to sign a contract with a consortium of Vinkovac-based firm Sokol and Osijek-based Hidrogradnja for the construction of the new port for passenger ships, it said in a statement on Thursday.
Osijek is the fourth largest city in Croatia, situated on the Drava river, in the northeastern part of the country, close to the border with Serbia and Hungary.
Works are expected to start already in September, once the deal is signed, and to be completed by the end of 2019, the statement said.
Transport minister Oleg Butkovic said in the statement that the port operator currently uses a privately-held port terminal to handle the arriving passenger ships.
He added that the number of ships visiting Osijek is expected to rise to around 80 this year from 37 in 2018.
(1 euro=7.40326 kuna)